‘I heard a noise, thank goodness, if I’d been on the grass, it would be lost for good’

Sound familiar?

There’s a new problem that’s starting to feed through into our everyday cars. It leaves us stranded, even with a car key!

Every week we get emails from frustrated readers and hear about the problem they have with a wobbly or broken car key blade. So, we wanted to warn you about the most troublesome keys to watch out for, and what can be done about it.

But before that, why are car key blades just dropping out of keys? Let’s have a look at how they’re held into the main button part of the key.

Car Key Blade Fitting – How most Car Keys are Made

The blade has a groove in it, which is held in key using a small roll pin

A hole is needed in the key blade holder, so the pin can be inserted and removed. This is a problem.

The hole is to blame. I’ve never blamed a hole before, but this is the problem for sure. There simply isn’t enough metal all around the hole, to keep it from cracking.

Or, the blade holder cracks, which opens up the slot where the blade should sit tight

Then, when it cracks, it opens up slightly, and the pin drops out

‘ting’

you hear the blade drop to the floor, hopefully.

Flip keys are cool

A Flip key is cool, but trouble.

We all like a flip key. Let’s face it, you press a button, the blade flicks out and we feel like we’re James Bond with this special gadget. In fact, it’s got so popular, that they sell kits to change a normal ‘boring’ key into a flip key.

We don’t recommend this click here to find out why.

The real problem with a car key blade that flicks out, is that they’re not made strong enough. Our customers complain it’s deliberate, that the dealers planned it, so they must buy a new key!

Top Car Key Blade Tip

If it’s looking wobbly, or is already broken, keep the blade safe. Your bill and your pain will be much higher if you lose the blade. So, keep it safe. Don’t lose it, please.

Let’s have a look at the worst car key blade problems, and what can be done about them.

The Top 3 Broken Car Key Blades

Troublesome Car Key Blade Problems – Top Award – Vauxhall

Vauxhall Astra J, Insignia, Mokka, Corsa E, they’re all the same. If your car key looks like this, you need to keep an eye on the car key blade

The hole cracks and then the hinge fractures as we’ve shown. We fix about three a week, plus the ones we fix by post. So, it’s a big problem and getting worse as these cars become mainstream.

The good news is you can fix your own Vauxhall key, with a little help from us. Oh look! a handy video

This is a good repair and should give your key a few more years of life. We don’t think the repair cases last quite as long as the original. They have the same problem with cracked holes. However, it will solve your problem cheaply, and is a good fix.

Troublesome Car Key Blade Problems- Second Place – Kia and Hyundai

Oh my, there must be so many owners Hyundai and Kia owners with a broken car key blade problems. Our video has nearly 550,000 views and is our most popular ‘How To’ lesson we have on-line.

Again, the hole cracks, the pin drops out and the blade is lost.

Now this repair is a bit trickier, but we’ve tried to explain it in much more detail here. Our advice is go slowly. Be like a mouse, nibble, and nibble and remove the plastic about the chip without being in a rush. If you don’t feel up to it, we can fix it by post.

It helps of course if you have a spare key, the pressure is right off. Take your time, melt the plastic around the chip until it pops out.

Good luck with this repair, and here’s that most viewed, in over 200 countries!

Car Key Blade Third Place Award – VW, Seat, Skoda and Audi

This is a real surprise, simply because VW started the whole flip key thing and they used to be amazingly strong. In fact, we’ve seen the original keys last fifteen years, without any problems.

Alas, those days have gone. In 2010, (a bad year for car keys), the design of the key changed. Blades drop like leaves in Autumn, especially once the ignition locks and housing become stiff. This is another bad problem, for you.

So now we have VW, Seat, Skoda and Audi keys with a car key blade problem. The worst thing is that they changed the design of the key in 2014, and the new keys are even worse! The new style of key is causing quite a drama, with some customers having them replaced under warranty.

This is the most difficult key to fix out of the three, simply because when you open the key, here’s a chance the chip will break. That’s bad, you’ll be stranded. Have a read to get more of an idea whether you should attempt this.

When we fix these by post, we always wait for a quiet time before fixing them, so we can concentrate. So, take care with your key.

Car Key Blade News- Is it getting better?

There are now more cars getting made with proximity, or Keyless keys. So, with these keys, there isn’t a car key blade to cause problems, or an ignition to break.

There are new problems with these keys, and we cover them here. In the meantime, we don’t think anyone is sitting down and planning an ultra-strong car key. So, we believe the problem is here to stay.

Watch out for news from us, but more importantly, keep an eye out for your car key blade!

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Hi there, I'm Steve

How may I help you?

I started the company in 2004 because I wanted to be a locksmith but no-one would employ me because I didn't have any experience. So I started from scratch and have spent the last 15 years learning every day about the complex systems that secure cars. If it can be fixed then I'll fix it for you.